24 Jan Where to Leave Instructions for When You Kick the Bucket

Kick the bucket, bite the big one, push up daisies. People use many idioms to soften the finality of death. Though death is inevitable and scary, you can alleviate some of the stress by estate planning since estate planning enables you to create a plan for your family to follow when you die. By predetermining what you’d like to happen to your possessions, assets, and remains, you can rest assured your loved ones have less to worry about and can grieve in peace. Read on to discover where to leave estate planning instructions for when you kick the bucket.

Distribute possessions in your last will and testament

Creating a last will and testament is an important part of estate planning because this document enables you to leave instructions on how you’d like your assets and possessions distributed. Leaving instructions on how you’d like to have your assets and possessions distributed is the key to avoiding family warfare when you die. Taking the guess work out of who gets what will prevent loved ones from arguing over who you’d have liked to receive your belongings. With this estate planning document in place, you can rest assured that your family will stick together, even after you die.

Use advanced planning to make funeral arrangements

Predetermining funeral arrangements requires a more advanced form of estate planning. Not many people choose to include this information in their estate plan because there’s not really a specific “spot” or space in an estate planning document where this information should go. At Boyum Law, we provide our clients with estate planning binders so they can keep all of their documents together. One of our binder tabs includes a place to file memorial instructions, but clients should also place this information elsewhere, such as with a close friend of family member. Your estate plan usually isn’t examined right away when you die, which means your instructions are likely to go unnoticed. By providing a trusted friend or family member with burial instructions, you can rest assured that your final wishes are known. Additionally, your family will not have to stress about planning a funeral if you have pre planned your own.

Leave a letter of final wishes

A letter of final wishes is technically not an estate planning document. However, it is a great way to leave instructions behind because it can be used to express your final thoughts and wishes to loved ones. You can include whatever you like in a letter of final wishes. Many people choose to share their hopes for the future. Others choose to leave behind instructions on how they’d like to pass down their legacy. No matter what you choose to include, writing a letter of final wishes is a great way to show your loved ones how much you cared.